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Boston Celtics (44-32) at Los Angeles Lakers (16-59)
Regular Season Game #77 Road Game #40
Sunday, April 3, 2016
9:30 PM ET
TV: CSNNE, TWC SN, Sportsnet One, NBA-LP 766(DTV)/759(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 710 AM ESPN
Staples Center
Probable Starters
Point Guard: Isaiah Thomas ---------------- Shooting Guard: Avery Bradley
Center: Jared Sullinger 
Small Forward: Jae Crowder ------------------ Power Forward: Amir Johnson
Celtics ReservesEvan Turner
Jonas Jerebko
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jordan Mickey
Tyler Zeller
David Lee
RJ Hunter
Kelly Olynyk
Marcus Smart
InjuriesJae Crowder (ankle) probable
Head CoachBrad Stevens
Probable Starters
Point Guard: D'Angelo Russell -------------------- Shooting Guard: Jordan Clarkson
Center: Roy Hibbert
Small Forward: Kobe Bryant -------------------- Power Forward: Julius Randle
Lakers Reserves Brandon Bass
Tarik Black
Marcelo Huertas
Ryan Kelly
Robert Sacre
Lou Williams
Metta World Peace
Nick Young
Injuries Anthony Brown (foot) out
Kobe Bryant (shoulder) questionable
Larry Nance, Jr (knee) probable
Head CoachByron Scott
Game Notes The Celtics complete their 5 game Western swing with a game against one of their most historic rivals. Although this matchup has lost some of the luster of this rivalry, there is still something special about a game between these two storied franchises. Both teams have begun rebuilds since their last Finals meeting, with the Celtics way ahead of the Lakers. This game takes on added significance with Kobe Bryant's retirement announcement.
Kobe Bryant has been the villain on the Celtics biggest rival for 20 years and this will be the last time he faces them. When these teams met in Boston in December, there were cheers (along with a few boos) for Kobe and the Lakers beat the Celtics 112-104. They split the series last season with each team winning on their home court.
The Celtics are 19-20 on the road while the Lakers are 11-27 at home. The Lakers last played on Wednesday when they did the Celtics a favor and beat the Miami Heat 102-100 in overtime. The Celtics, of course, are coming off the biggest win of the season and they became the first team to beat the Warriors at the Oracle Arena in 54 tries. The Celtics are 2-8 in their last 10 games against the Lakers, in spite of the Celtics being the better team in several of those losses.
Five of the first 7 teams to beat the Warriors went on to lose the next game. The Celtics are fighting for playoff positioning and can't afford to let down and let a team they should clearly beat get the better of them for the second time this season. The Celtics need to come out with revenge on their mind and play with the same intensity that they did against the Warriors or the Win against Golden State will lose much of it's luster.
Jae Crowder returned for the game vs Portland and looked good in that game but rested against the Warriors the next night so as not to risk injuring the ankle once again. He is expected to play in this game. Kobe left the game in the first quarter against the Heat and is listed as questionable for this game. I would guess that with 3 days off and his biggest rival coming to town that he will at least give it a try to play. He has just 2 home games after this one also and if he can play, I think he will.
The Lakers have been shaken this past week by a video that D'Angelo Russell secretly recorded of Nick Young bragging about cheating on his fiancee being released. There were reports of strife in the locker room and the rest of the team freezing out their young point guard. They may or may not be over it, but it didn't seem to hamper them against the Heat and probably won't hamper them in this game either.
The Celtics are now in 5th place in the East with Miami dropping to 6th as a result of their loss to Portland on Saturday night and the Celtics owning the tie breaker between them. Charlotte (3) and Atlanta (4) are both just half a game ahead of the Celtics. Detroit (7) is 3.5 games behind the Celtics. The Lakers are last in the West and are playing for ping pong balls once again this season. Games to watch: Sunday - CHA@CLE.
Key Matchups vs
Jae Crowder vs Kobe Bryant
Jae is expected to play in this game after resting against the Warriors and Kobe is questionable but I expect him to play the final game against the team he faced twice in the Finals. I don't expect Jae to cut Kobe any slack even if he is retiring. Kobe is far from the player he was in his prime, but he is still leading the Lakers with 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He led the Lakers with 15 points and 11 rebounds in their earlier win over the Celtics.
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Amir Johnson vs Julius Randle
Randle is one of the building blocks for the Lakers future. He is averaging 11.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He finished the Lakers December win over the Celtics with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Amir needs to especially keep him off the boards.
Honorable Mention
Evan Turner vs Lou Williams
Evan should be back to leading the reserves with Jae back in the starting lineup. He will need to contend with Lou Williams, who is once again in the running for 6th man of the year. He is averaging 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Keys to the Game Focus - The Celtics can't come into this game too high from their win over the Warriors. They must focus on getting a win in this game and not rest on the laurels of the win over Golden State. They must especially focus on hitting their shots and playing team ball.
Defense - The Lakers are 27th in the league in points allowed with 106.9 per game. The Celtics played some excellent defense against the Warriors. When the Celtics play that kind of defense, they are tough to beat. They have to play the same tough team defense that they played against the Warriors in this game. Defense wins games.
Move the Ball and Play as a Team - The Celtics are 6th in the league with 24.1 assists per game. When they play as a team and make the extra pass to find the open man, they play very well. When the Celtics have under 20 assists they are just 13-13 but when they have over 20 assists, they are 41-18.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket, in diving for loose balls, and on defense. They have to aggressively crash the boards and just play harder. They have to be the team that wants it more. They were the more aggressive team against the Warriors and they must be the more aggressive team against the Lakers. No let up!
Rebound - The Celtics were out-rebounded 52-45 in their December loss to the Lakers. Rebounding takes effort and when the Celtics slack off on rebounding, the lack of effort tends to affect other areas of their game. The Celtics must make an effort to crash the boards and limit the Lakers' possessions and second chance points.
X-Factors Revenge and Motivation The Celtics should be motivated to beat the Lakers so as to gain home court in the playoffs. They also should be motivated to avenge the loss to the Lakers on their home court, a game they should have won. The Lakers may be motivated to beat an old rival, but mostly, they should be playing for more ping pong balls.
In or OutJae Crowder played well in his return against the Blazers. However, the Celtics lost that game. He definitely adds intensity and defense to the team, and hopefully his return won't upset the balance of the team as he seeks to get his conditioning back. Also, if Kobe is out, that may affect the Lakers chemistry.
Officiating - Officiating is a factor in every single game played in the NBA. Every crew has their own biases and their own way of officiating and many times it affects the way the game is played. Kobe made the comment in an interview that he didn't know how the Lakers won game 7 of the 2010 Finals. It's very simple. After the referees allowed both teams to play in the first 3 quarters with the Lakers shooting 16 free throws to 11 for the Celtics, they called the 4th quarter completely one sided with the Lakers shooting 21 free throws to the Celtics 6. Hopefully they will call this one fairly and let them play as they did for the most part against the Warriors.
Topic: Celtics (44-32) at Lakers (16-59) Game #77 4/3/16 (Read 33712 times)